In 2014, Mexico, which has a higher rate of adult obesity than the United States, became one of the first countries to implement a nationwide soda tax. Dr. Juan Rivera of the National Institutes of Public Health of Mexico joins CFR’s Thomas Bollyky to discuss the early results from the first year of that tax and its implications for the use of soda taxes in other countries and cities.

The U.S.-Mexico High Level Economic Dialogue was created by U.S. President Barack Obama and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in May 2013 and the first cabinet-level meeting was convened September 2013 in Mexico City. Vice President Biden hosted the January 6, 2015 meeting in Washington. Participating U.S. agencies include Departments of State and Commerce, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. In 2015, strategic goals are focused on energy; modern borders; work force development; regulatory cooperation; partnering in regional and global leadership; and stakeholder engagement.

U.S. policymakers who worry about the impact of energy developments on geopolitics typically think of high oil prices as bad news and low prices as an unalloyed good. But a sustained drop in oil prices can be dangerous as well. This paper investigates Mexican vulnerability to falling oil prices—and spillovers to the United States—to show how troublesome such a development might be.

"[Joaquin] Guzman has been characterized by the U.S. Treasury Department as "the world's most powerful drug trafficker," and after the killing of Osama bin Laden, three years ago, he became perhaps the most wanted fugitive on the planet. Mexican politicians promised to bring him to justice, and the U.S. offered a five-million-dollar reward for information leading to his capture. But part of Guzmán's fame stemmed from the perception that he was uncatchable, and he continued to thrive, consolidating control of key smuggling routes and extending his operation into new markets in Europe, Asia, and Australia. According to one study, the Sinaloa cartel is now active in more than fifty countries."

The issue of gun control is far from limited to the domestic politics of the United States: transnational gun trafficking makes armed violence a continental problem. The United States and Brazil, home to the largest arms industries in the Hemisphere, should partner to safeguard weapons stocks and staunch the flow of illegal weapons to illicit groups writes Julia Sweig.

Across Mexico, the lawlessness and carnage of the drug wars have given rise to scores of local self-defense forces aiming to defend their communities. The federal government may be tempted to disband and disarm these armed vigilantes, but until it can shape up its security sector, the local groups offer an imperfect but acceptable alternative.

2015 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2015 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »